Medical marijuana license hopefuls will hear today

Friday

Jan 31, 2014 at 12:01 AM

By Allison DeAngelisDaily News Correspondent

Rina Cametti will be biting her nails today as she waits to learn if her new company will be one of the winners out of 180 other competitors vying for one of the state's new medical marijuana distribution licenses."I'm anxious to see the final decision," said Cametti, who started Baystate Medical Enterprises in Franklin to take advantage of the new law allowing limited distribution of medical pot. "I'm trying to be positive, but there are a lot of great applicants."Cametti's new venture is among 10 MetroWest-area candidates for distribution licenses being considered by the state Department of Public Health.Between 14 and 35 licenses will be distributed, with a least one in each county. Dispensaries will be chosen based on the appropriateness of the site, geography, local support and the applicant's ability to meet the overall needs of patients while ensuring patient health, said DPH spokeswoman Anne Roach.With 10 applicants still in the running, Framingham, Franklin, Milford and Shrewsbury could soon be home to some of the state's first medical marijuana dispensaries."The community has been really welcoming. Framingham has a very business-friendly nature and is a progressive area," said David Safaii, who found inspiration to open Releaf, Inc., from his brother, who suffers from Crohn's disease and relies on medical marijuana to combat the pain.For Armand Riendeau, the decision to open in Milford was partly strategic."No one else has applied in Milford in the time, and the people and location just fit nicely together. Folks were just easy to talk to," he said.MetroWest applicants said the year-long licensing process is fitting for the new industry, which submitted more than 180 applications.After the sale of medical marijuana was approved in a 2012 statewide vote, the DPH held public meetings and conducted a two-round application process beginning last August. DPH also is developing a database to track patient and physician registrations, which will be available to law enforcement.Cametti said the health department has handled its assignment well."They know what they want, which is great because we don't want any gray areas. I tip my hat to them."While she believes the DPH is doing all it can, Rep. Carolyn Dykema, D-Holliston, said she still has concerns.While other prescription drugs are regulated federally, Massachusetts is effectively creating its own regulatory process on a smaller scale, she said."We need to make sure that DPH has the funding to do this properly because it will have a really direct impact on the municipalities where these facilities are located and the surrounding areas," Dykema said.Licenses issued today are provisional, said Roach, from DPH. The department will work with dispensaries over the coming months until they receive final registration.If there will be further regulations is unclear."I'm not sure, said Riendeau. "They may have new regulations that we're not aware of yet."Given that the "seed to sale" time for marijuana plants is about six months, the earliest potential dispensaries expect to open is fall 2014.Allison DeAngelis writes for the Boston University Statehouse program.